The Fine Line (13 page)

“WHAT?”

My cheeks began to burn in embarrassment as I realized the problem.  I turned the knob to the off position and let out an enormous sigh.  “I left my lights on all day.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He paused, then asked, “Is there anyone there that can give you a jump?”

I looked around.  There were a few kids quickly walking to their cars.  I stepped out of my car, and my hair immediately whipped up as the icy blast of air stung my face. I approached one person after the other while Logan was still on the phone, but nobody had any jumper cables.  Logan seemed to be getting impatient.

“Liv, just wait there.  I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he huffed.

“You don’t have to….” He hung up before I could finish. 

My teeth chattered as I sat in my car where I could be protected from the wind and waited for Logan to get here.  Finally, his car pulled up next to mine. I stepped out to greet him and watched as he immediately opened the hood of his car then went to his trunk to get the jumper cables.  Without a single word to me. 

When he finally looked at me, his brows crinkled together, and he looked at me as though I had done something to upset him.  “Liv, get in my car.  You’re freezing.”

“No, I’m fine.  I’ll help.”  I began to walk towards him.

“Your lips are fucking blue.”  He pointed to his car, demanding, “Get in my car.”

Taken aback by his tone, I squinted at him, confused.  “No, I’ll help.”

“For the love of Christ, you’re going to get hypothermia!” he snapped.  “I can handle a jump start.  Get in the fucking car and warm up.”

Wondering where in the world that outburst came from, I decided to let it go, and I got in the car.  It only took a few minutes for Logan to get my car started.  He closed the hood of my car, then his, and came into the car, sitting in the driver’s seat next to me.

“Stay here for a few minutes until your car warms up,” he ordered, staring straight ahead.

Why was he so mad at me? “Logan, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.  I know it was stupid.”

He looked at me with guilt.  “I’m not mad at you.  You can call me anytime you need help.  With anything.”

I sighed.  “Does that mean we’re good?” 

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Then what the heck is up with you?”

He leaned back and rested his head on the seat.  “Nothing’s up.”

I stared at him, waiting for a real answer.  Still, he remained silent.  “Hey, Logan?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m here for you, too, you know.”  I reached for his hand which rested on his thigh and held it tightly.  “What’s wrong?”

“Your hands are freezing, Liv.  Why didn’t you wait inside the school for me?”  He took hold of both of my icicle hands and covered them with his nice, warm, toasty ones, and began to rub them together. 

“Stop changing the subject.” 

One corner of his mouth turned up, and his demeanor visibly relaxed.  “I don’t know…My mom is having this birthday dinner for me tonight, and I don’t really want to go.”

“It’s your birthday?!”

“Not ‘til next week, but yeah.”

“What day?”

“December 15th, why?”

“Shut up.”

He let out a laugh.  “Okay, this I’ve got to hear.”

“Mine’s the 13th.”

“Get the fuck out, are you serious?”

I nodded.  “This means you are almost exactly 2 years older than me.  You old man, you.”

“At least I’m not a
dirty
old man.”  Then he looked up at the roof of the car as if he were contemplating the validity of that statement.

An idea came to me, and I took my hands out of his and grabbed his arms in excitement.  “Let’s have a party!  For both of us!” 

“A birthday party?” he asked as if the idea were ridiculous.  “I’m not into that, Liv.  I haven’t had a birthday party since I was a kid.” 

“What’s tonight then?  Sounds like a family birthday party to me.” 

“More like my own personal hell.”

Confused, I gave him a questioning look.  “Why don’t you want to go to your mom’s tonight?”

“Because her husband is going to be there.  I hate that prick.”

“Her husband?  I thought your dad…Wait, when did they...Huh?”

“Yeah, exactly.  It doesn’t quite add up, does it?  Turns out she was with him when my dad was…dying.”

“Oh my God, Logan. I’m so sorry.”

“My dad had a rare form of cancer.  He passed away three months after we found out he had it.”  Pain mixed with anger was in his eyes as his gaze met mine.  “My mom has been with this douchebag for a long time.  I’d cut them out of my life completely if it weren’t for my sister.” 

“Your sister?!  Logan, why didn’t you ever tell me you had a sister?”

“You never asked.”

He was right.  I was a horrible friend to not know these things.  “Well, tell me about her!”

“She’s eleven.  As much as I hate the guy, Robert is actually good to her.  I’d kick his ass if he weren’t.”

“Are you close…with your sister?”

He nodded silently.  I took a moment to let the new unexpected information, and the fact that he was just now sharing it with me, sink in.

“You want to meet her?” he asked.

“Yes!  I would love to.”

He hesitated.  “Come with me tonight.”  

To meet his family?  I had to work tonight.  Looking into his afflicted eyes, I realized that he needed support.  And I wanted nothing more than to make sure he got it.

“Okay,” I agreed, smiling.  “I got your back.”

He chuckled at my remark.  “I know you do.  Dinner’s at six.  I’ll pick you up at five.  Sound good?”

“Sounds good.  See you then.”  I pulled on the door handle and stepped into the icy wind.  Before closing the door, I dipped my head back down so I could see him.  “Thanks for rescuing me, by the way.”

He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.  Fascination?  Definitely compassion.  “It was no problem, Liv.  Really, I want you to call me if anything like this ever happens again, okay?”

“Okay.”  I grinned.  “Later.”  I closed the door and immediately jumped into my car, grateful that it had a chance to warm up.  I took a deep breath and dialed the number to Frank’s, hoping that my manager wouldn’t be too upset with me for missing work tonight.

*

The doorbell rang as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.  I had decided on dark blue jeans and a fuzzy black sweater.  Having no idea what Logan’s family was like, I figured a casual chic style would be appropriate.  The top portion of my hair was up in a clip with a few chunky wisps hanging down from my hairline. 

I grabbed my coat on the way to the door, wrapping myself in it just before turning the knob.  Logan held the storm door open as I locked up.  We climbed into his Mustang, and I grinned at the low rumble it made as it started up. 

“Are you ready for this?” Logan asked as if we were going into battle.

“It’s your family, Logan.  They can’t be that bad,” I reassured him. 

“Just wait.  You’ll see.”

The drive was longer than I had anticipated.  After jumping onto the interstate, the number of city lights gradually lessened until there were none at all.  Finally, we exited onto a country road.  Gravel crackled under the tires as we rolled up the long driveway to Logan’s childhood home a few moments later. 

After exiting the car, I gazed up at the sky, astonished at the multitude of stars that could be seen.  The wind had died down and just a small breeze remained.

“You don’t get out of the city much, do you?” Logan asked.  From his tone, I could tell he was on edge.

“It’s beautiful!” I answered, still looking up.  “I’ve never seen so many!”

I hooked my arm in his, giving it a supportive squeeze before he ushered me into the house.  The home had been recently renovated.  The smell of new carpeting and wood work mixed with home cooking filled the air.  To my right was a large living room, and to my left, a staircase.  We advanced straight ahead, down the hall to the kitchen.

“Logan’s here!” a young voice shouted.  An adolescent girl, whom I assumed to be Logan’s sister, hopped off her chair and rushed towards us, meeting us in the hallway.  Her straight shoulder-length hair was the same dark chocolate color as Logan’s, but her eyes were pure emerald.  The resemblance between the two was unmistakable.  She would be a heartbreaker in a few years, if not already.

“Hey, squirt!”  He lifted her into a huge bear hug.  Her feet dangled back and forth as he playfully swayed with her.  Setting her down, he placed his hand on top of her head and messed up her hair. 

“Logan!  Stop it!” she giggled, giving him a nudge. 

He directed his attention towards me.  “Lanie, this is my friend, Liv.” 

She smiled and gave me a big squeeze.  “Hi, Liv.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lanie,” I laughed.  This girl was irresistible.

“We’re in the kitchen.  Mom’s making your favorite,” Lanie said.

As we followed Lanie towards the kitchen, I noticed several pictures on the walls, and I stopped to stare at one that caught my eye.  It was of Logan and a man in front of the Mustang.  They looked happy. 

“It’s the only picture in the house of my father,” Logan said from behind me.  “My mom took the rest of them down when Robert moved in.  It was taken the day we finished restoring the Mustang.”

“You look exactly like your dad,” I said.

“Yeah, we got that a lot.”

“There he is! Happy birthday!” shouted a man walking into the kitchen from the back patio door.  He carried a platter with something huge on it, wrapped in tin-foil.  The aroma of a charcoal grill followed him in.  I smiled at the thought of grilling in the winter.  It was something Adam used to do.

Logan’s mother was at the stove, stirring some sliced red potatoes in a skillet.  “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi,” he coldly replied, staying by my side.  Tension filled the air from his lack of affection.  After what he told me, it didn’t surprise me that he didn’t show her the same warmth that he did with his sister.  She continued to smile, but Logan’s indifference elicited disappointment in her eyes.

Her gaze turned to me, and her expression lightened.  “You brought company!”

“Liv, meet my mother,” Logan said.

“You can call me Jen.”  She smiled, and I politely shook her hand.  “And that’s Robert.”  She pointed to the man who had placed the platter on the counter, and I waved to him. 

“Can we help with anything?” I asked.

“You two just relax. We’ll take care of everything,” Jen replied.

A phone started ringing to the tune of a Justin Bieber song that I frequently heard playing on the radio.  Lanie jumped up.  “That’s Cody!” She rushed to where the phone was sitting on the kitchen table and answered it.  “Hey, Cody,” she said in a flirty voice.

Jen and Robert shared a knowing smile and shook their heads as Lanie walked out of the room, twirling her hair with her finger.  I turned to Logan, seeing anger build behind the calm façade he was trying to maintain.

“Please tell me an eleven-year-old does not have her own cell phone,” Logan said in an overly calm voice.  Jen looked at him with an uncertain expression.  “And please tell me that was not her boyfriend on it.”

After a silent, awkward moment, Jen spoke.  “She’s growing up, Logan.  Robert and I discussed it with Lanie, and we all agreed that as long as she kept up on her schoolwork and housework, she could have the privilege of a phone.”  Jen took a deep breath.  “And yes, Cody is her boyfriend.  But you know how kids are at that age.  So-called ‘boyfriends’ change weekly, and they barely even talk to each other.  It’s nothing serious.”

“Clearly, they’re talking to each other now,” Logan replied.  “I hope you’ve at least met the kid.”

Oh, this is not good.

“You have a beautiful home, Jen,” I said, trying to change the subject.

Logan answered in a sarcastic tone, “Yes, it’s been completely remodeled.  I barely recognize it.”

An ear-piercing clanking noise, coming from where Robert was standing, caught our attention.  Robert’s palms were on the counter.  His head dropped down as he took a calming breath.  He turned to face Logan. 

“Your mother and your sister have been looking forward to this night for weeks.  Regardless of how you feel about us,” he said, motioning to himself and Jen. “I think you can agree that it would be in Lanie’s best interest for us all to have a nice time this evening.”

Oh dear.

Logan’s face turned a shade of red as his fury began to build.  I had no idea how he was keeping it under control.  Still staring at Robert, Logan replied through clenched teeth, “Liv, would you like a tour of this
beautiful
home.”  Then he extended his hand to me and turned to face me.  The moment his eyes met mine, they began to plead for help. 

I gave him a reassuring smile.  “Yes, Logan, I would love a tour.”

He led me back through the hall and up the staircase.  We entered a room with dark blue walls, a bed with a grey comforter, and mission-style dressers.  It must’ve been Logan’s old room.

He began to pace as I closed the door.  If this evening had been planned for weeks, it meant Logan had weeks to let this apprehension build up.

He grabbed his hair.  He sat down on the bed, then instantly got up and started pacing again.  “What the fuck was that?”  He half-shouted, half-whispered.  He turned to me.  “Who does that asshole think he is?  Did you hear him, Liv?”  He pointed to the door.  “Did you hear that shit?”

“I know…” I started.

“We’re here two minutes. 
Two
minutes!”

“Logan…”

“I mean, why does he think I’m here?  It’s sure as hell not for him!  And it’s not for my cheating mother.  I can’t believe that asshole is living in my father’s house, I mean…”

“Logan!”

“…Of course I’m here for Lanie!  Do you know how much I want to put my fist through his smug face right now?”  His anger intensified.

I tried again.  “It was uncalled for, I…”

“She’s the
only
reason I’m here.  I would NEVER do anything to upset her!” 

“Logan, I know…”

“What the hell do they think they’re going to accomplish with this stupid dinner anyway?  Do they think they’re going to make us a family?  My dad would never allow his eleven-year-old daughter to have a boyfriend.  What the hell are they thinking, Liv?”